Mass Effect: Reunion
by Biker Scout
Summary: Commander Shepard and Miranda Lawson fought the Collectors and the Reapers and won. But the victory was bittersweet. Shepard was left trapped on the Citadel with no way off and Miranda soon found herself being hunted by the very Alliance that she had left Cerberus to aid. With Miranda off the grid and Shepard with the Alliance, could they have any kind of life together?
1. Chapter 1: War's End

**Chapter 1: War's End**

Commander John Shepard stood at the base of the ramp leading up to the three different panels. One would enable him to ascend to become the intelligence that would control the Reapers. One would bring synthesis of organics and synthetics. And one would destroy the AI and the Reapers, and potentially other synthetics and even Shepard himself.

Synthesis. It seemed so logical. And it was clearly the choice the AI was hoping Shepard would pick. He stood at the base of the ramp. How convenient, he thought, that this should come up, pre-made and ready, almost like…. almost like a video game. That's when he realized that the AI had lost. He closed his eyes and blocked out all senses. As he did so, he could feel coldness against his forearms, the floor against his knees. He concentrated on his hands and knees, feeling the floor as he crawled slowly backward. After a few moments, he reached over with his right hand to feel a leg. Admiral Anderson lay dying, or possibly already dead. Shepard knew that if it could help it, the AI would never allow him to destroy the Reapers. He had lost a lot of blood and his armor was empty of medi-gel after Harbinger's blast. He found Anderson's pistol and opened his eyes.

Now, he was on his hands and knees just a few feet from the control panel, Anderson's motionless body beside him. There was no child. It was the Leviathan created AI using his own memories to communicate. It had been unable to take control of him as it had Doctor Ann Bryson, but it was able to project illusions into his mind. But now, he had broken that power. The three ramps had been a part of an old N-7 VR combat simulator. The child had been killed at the beginning of the war. He had to give it credit. The AI was nothing, if not crafty. But its options had run out.

"Commander Shepard," came Admiral Hackett's voice emphatically. "The Crucible is still not firing. It must be something at your end."

"I'm on it, sir," he replied weakly. Drawing on his last reserves, Shepard stood and forced himself to walk to the control panel. The AI was still trying to influence him, but he forced its voice from his mind. Now, he could see the previously obscured handle. He grasped it and turned it a quarter of a turn to left, loosening it and allowing it to come up from the panel.

"There is no ending to this war that involves the Reapers living," he said to the AI.

Shepard then turned it left again and plunged it back into the panel. The entire station shook violently as the connection was made. The Crucible was armed.

The Crucible fired, rocking the station and everything in it. Shepard rolled to dodge a piece of debris that fell towards him. He took hold of Admiral Anderson and rolled him out of the way at the same time. The floor suddenly erupted in twisted steel and shattered tiles. The control panel was heaved into the air and was now coming down on Shepard. He dodged it, but was caught in more debris from the ceiling. He wasn't dead, but his legs were pinned. He didn't think anything was broken, but he knew he was not leaving. He smiled, knowing that the Reapers had finally been stopped. The cycle had been broken. He could die knowing that he had finished it.

Then Miranda's voice echoed in his head: "Finish this, John. Then come and find me."

_I will find you_, he thought to himself. _Somehow, I will get off of this station and I will find you_. Blackness engulfed him.

The energy was released from the Citadel with astounding power, bathing Earth in its red glow and being transmitted through the mass relays. The Reapers fell, as did their troops. The fleets escaped to the rendezvous point and in that moment, millions of years of a repeating cycle of harvest, extinction, and rebuilding came to an end. As the last of the energy was released, the great station sat still once more. The force of the Crucible had caused the station to turn on its axis. Now, sunlight came in through the window that had previously shown the Reapers' devastation of the united fleets. As the warmth touched Shepard's cheek, he awoke and inhaled sharply. He was alive.

"No time to rest," he said aloud. "Time to get out of here and find you, Miranda."

He lifting the wreckage from his legs, he stood, tossing it aside. He quickly found Anderson. The admiral was dead, but while he had clips and a pistol, he was missing the one thing that Shepard needed most: medi-gel.

On a hunch, he checked the Illusive Man's corpse. Paydirt. He knew that the Illusive Man would never leave his station without the stuff. He quickly applied it to his wounds, gathered what he could and began his search for a way off of the Citadel.

**Admiral Hackett's monologue:**

"The war is over. The Reapers have been defeated. Against all odds, and in the face of the greatest threat the galaxy has ever known, we survived. We suffered many losses. The relays are severely damaged, but we won.

"This victory belongs to each of us… every man, woman, and child. Every civilization… on every world. Now, as we take our first steps toward restoring what we lost, we must remember what it took to win. This wasn't a victory by a single fleet, a single army, or even a single species. If this war has taught us anything, it is that we are at our strongest when we work together. And if we can put down our grievances long enough to stop something as powerful as the Reapers, imagine what we can achieve now that they are defeated.

"It will take time, but we can rebuild everything that was destroyed. Our homes, our worlds, our fleets and defenses. All of this and more. Together, we can build a future greater than any one of us could imagine.

"A future paid for by the sacrifices of those who fought and died alongside us. A future that many will never see.

"And while we still have many challenges ahead of us, we can face them together. And we will honor those who died to give us that future."

At least that was the hope …

#

**2190 CE:** The war has been over for two years and the cost was devastating beyond imagination. The Council, along with every man, woman, and child on the Citadel died after the Reapers took control of it, leaving galactic civilization in complete disarray. With the damage to, and in some cases destruction of, the mass relays, galactic civilization was effectively over. The non-human fleets were ravaged in the war and trapped in the Sol System. Cut off from their homes, with nowhere else to go, they settled in enclaves on Earth.

With the council killed and non-humans cut off from their home worlds, the Systems Alliance had to accept that after two years, there was unlikely to be a quick solution to the issue. Mass relay technology was still beyond the species of the galaxy; only the Protheans had unlocked it 50,000 years ago and they were long gone. All that remained of the Citadel was twisted wreckage, so the stranded non-humans had to make their homes on Earth.

With the war still fresh in everyone's minds and Earth's population depleted, the aliens were welcomed. In fact, with the Krogan and Turian militaries fighting alongside Alliance military against the Reapers to free Earth and Cerberus found to be in collusion with the Reapers, all of the separatist movements had lost traction. The alien races began helping with the rebuilding efforts on Earth; as the possibility existed that they would be stranded here for the rest of their lives, it only made sense.

With several fleets of non-human ships in Alliance space, an effort was made to salvage the Citadel and, from its materials, construct a new space station. With the new station under construction, and parts of it already in service, it seemed that under the circumstances, a recovery was being made.

Shepard looked at the large case of awards that he had received. It was a large, well appointed, case filled with trinkets that meant very little to him, impressive as they were. They showed off how much he had accomplished, but reminded him of the one thing that he had not been able to accomplish since the war's end: find Miranda.


	2. Chapter 2: A Quiet Life

Chapter 2: A Quiet Life

Miranda Lawson sat at her desk and looked at her picture of Captain Shepard. She longed to see him again, but life was too complicated. Shepard was a war hero and Miranda was in hiding on Callisto. Miriam 'Miri' Cordell was her new alias. The Jovian Colonies were the only ones still within reach of Earth and among the oldest colonies of the Alliance. Decades of Terraforming had made the colony quite livable and a livable place far away from Earth was where she needed to be. She put the picture back into her purse and place the purse into the desk drawer. As she closed the drawer, the classroom door opened and the children poured into the class room.

Once the children were seated, she stood and addressed the class.

"Good morning, kids."

She was greeted by the familiar response,

"Good morning Miss Cordell."

Middle school science with a class of sixth graders was not where she had ever expected to be. She had to laugh; when she had first met Shepard, she had always remained cool and business like around others. She had rubbed a lot of people the wrong way because they perceived her as being cold, but the truth was that it was a defense mechanism; she had learned that people would always let you down.

But after meeting Shepard, the ice began to melt. She had really expected Shepard to turn out like every other hero: a mask of greatness on the face of a selfish and insecure person who took the same shortcuts that everyone else did at the expense of those around them. But he proved her wrong at every turn. He resolved conflicts without just killing people. He took the high road every time, even when dealing with Jack. Then he stood with her to rescue Oriana. When her oldest friend betrayed her, Shepard stood with her. Shepard had also believed in her when self-doubt began to creep in after rescuing Oriana. Her romance with the Alliance hero had given her the confidence to leave Cerberus and to finally confront her father. And the confidence to start a life with the man she loved. Her only regret was that she could never have given him a child.

Of course it was all moot now; after the war, the Alliance began rounding up all of the ex-Cerberus people and putting them on trial to satisfy the public. Shepard's opposition to doing so had nearly cost him his career, and had certainly cost him admiral's bars. _Admiral's bars_, she laughed to herself. _Like he cares about any of that_. She could not get near him after the war and could not risk contacting him, as anyone in contact with her might bring scrutiny upon themselves.

And so she had fled to the Jovian Colonies to start a new life. Forged credentials coupled with the disarray of Earth had enabled her to get the position. And her knowledge base far exceeded the job requirements. And so, here she was surrounded by children who loved her class. She felt herself melt when she saw their faces each morning. A normal life as a schoolteacher; it seemed as though in pretending to be something that she wasn't for the sake of cover, she had actually learned to live a normal life. If she could not be with Shepard, then this was a nice consolation prize.

When class had ended, one of her students was slow in leaving. Zack Hudson always was. He always took a few extra moments to gather his things and before leaving, and he always took a moment to say 'good bye' to his teacher. Today, he wore a 'Commander Shepard' T-shirt. It was one of the many that had been produced right after the war, showing the Commander in his N-7 armor and holding his Lancer rifle in a dramatic pose, a platoon of marines behind him and the Normandy above them.

"I always loved that picture."

His face lit up and he beamed with pride. She knew the look of a student with a crush on his teacher, and having his shirt complimented went a long way with him.

"Thanks!" His reply was enthusiastic, but he looked down as he spoke, self-conscious now that Miranda had noticed him. "He's the greatest."

_You have no idea_, she thought with a smile. Zack was one of those socially awkward kids who idolized the Alliance hero. Small for his age and wire thin, he practically swam in the shirt. He often wore a jacket covered in N-7 patches and commemorative pins and sported and N-7 belt buckle. She felt bad for him; he had grown up in foster care after his parents died during the war. The clothes were all donations or things he had ordered after earning credits for odd jobs. He got picked on a lot, but like Shepard, he had a fire in his eyes. And like Shepard, he was idealistic, always doing the right thing, even when it hurt him. _A little confidence boost wouldn't hurt_, she thought.

"You know, I once met the Commander," she offered. A lot of people had, so she felt comfortable in sharing that. "He was very nice. He even autographed a picture for me."

"No way! You're really lucky, Miss Cordell."

"I suppose. He was very kind about giving autographs. I was just glad that he was everything that I had heard he was. Not fake, or condescending. You know, you remind me of him sometimes."

"Really?" Zack seemed unconvinced.

"Really. You're forthright and honest, always willing to stand up for what you believe in. And I have seen you stick up for other kids when they've been picked on."

"Yeah, and I just end up getting beaten on." than hi

"The Commander always took on enemies larger mself, Zack. So yes, really." The boy's spirits were lifted tremendously at her words, but she had to cut the conversation short. "Well Zack, you need to get to social studies and I've got another class. We'll talk later."

The smitten boy beamed at her and waved as he exited the classroom. Miranda shook her head laughing to herself. She could almost picture herself with Shepard and Zack as their son. _If only_, she thought. As Zack disappeared into the hallway and her next class began to enter, she had to fight off a wave of sadness, grieving for what could never be.

#

Kor'shak hid his ships on the far side of Jupiter. It had taken them a long time to get the Sol system to rendezvous with their Human allies. Humans. He hated them, but he also knew that there was always an element who would betray their own kind to satisfy their greed. And those Humans he could make use of. The Batarian captain looked out the bay window at the pirate fleet that he was assembling. So far, he had managed to get about fifty ships together; a mix of Batarian and Human freighters, each loaded with pirates hungry for loot and slaves. Once all were in place, he would have over a hundred; more than enough to pick the Jovian Colonies clean of Humans and kick-start the slave trade again. They would start with the colony on Callisto.

#

"Shepard, how long has it been since you've been on a date?" asked Garrus.

Shepard, Garrus, and Jacob sat on a Mediterranean beach sipping drinks. All three managed shore leave at the same time and had come back to this beach for their annual gathering. They had all gotten rich from the vids, but only Jacob had actually packed it in and left the service to raise a family. Garrus, with his status and C-Sec experience, had become the head of security on Forum Station, the new inter-species space station. Only Shepard had remained in active duty military and still the skipper of the Normandy. The Systems Alliance and the representatives of the various alien species that were stranded in the system had all unanimously agreed that some kind of multi species force was needed, so Shepard, along with other stranded Spectres became a part of that force, though they were no longer called Spectres. The new Alliance government was no longer just a human government; it really was an alliance, though now it was an alliance of species and cultures, not just one of human operated systems. The new force had less ability to act unilaterally; they had learned their lesson with Saren and Tela Vasir. Shepard had spearheaded the formation of this new force and had opted to call them the Rangers, as the name fit the job description. Between the Alliance and the Rangers, Shepard worked full time.

"Not since that night in the Casino with Miranda," replied Shepard.

"Shepard, that was over five years ago," Jacob observed. "You've gotta let her go."

"I promised I'd find her. Until I can find her or verify that she's dead, I won't have any dates with anyone."

"Your loyalty is admirable," replied Garrus in his duo-tone voice. "But even I've got to agree; you need to find a nice gal and make a life for yourself. You know, there are no shortages of actresses from the vids that would die to be your wife."

"Yeah, celebrity power couple," Jacob added.

Shepard shook his head.

"Those things never last. And the only woman that I want is Miranda. I promised I'd find her. That's one of the reasons I wanted to set up the new Rangers and why I turned down an admiralty."

"You turned down an admiralty?" Jacob could hardly believe it. "I thought they snubbed you over your opposition to trying former Cerberus members."

"They were happy I said no," Shepard laughed, "But that's the reason that I still think she's out there. When I was in lockdown before the war, she stayed away and made no effort to communicate precisely to keep me out of trouble because of her. Besides, I hate the idea of not serving. I'll serve until I either die or retire, but as long as I'm serving, I'll serve with the troops on a ship."

Garrus looked out at the sea, silent for a few moments. Shepard and Jacob saw that his mind was working so they patiently waited for him to speak. Finally, he did.

"Shepard, I know I'm not in the military anymore, but I still have contacts with the remnant of Turian High Command and with your own people. I hear that pirates have been getting bolder. I know that it's probably nothing, but I've got a bad feeling about this. Be careful."

"There's more going on with that than you know," replied Shepard.

"You know something? When were you going to tell us?" Garrus was only half joking.

"Yeah, Shepard," chimed in Jacob. "I'd like to know if it's anything Brynn and I need to worry about."

"Garrus, Jacob, you two are my best friends. I tell you what I can, but I cannot share everything with you. Heck, it would drive you crazy to know just how much is going on. You know what it's like; there's always something threatening the stability of our society. I do look out for you guys. All of you; Liara, Tali, Wrex, Vega, all of you. Believe me, if I come across anything that will affect you, I will share it with you, regs be damned."

"Now that I can take to the bank," laughed Jacob.

"Say, I'm making a run to the Mars Colony. Mainly VIPs and investors on the trip over; I'm picking up marines from the base on Mars to bring back to Earth on the return trip. Ash and Vega are part of the unit. Why don't you guys come with? Jacob, you can bring Brynn and the kids. It'll be fun."

"Brynn is busy and the kids are in an equestrian camp that we paid a ton of money for them to attend. Can't pull them out for it, but I can probably make the trip myself."

"Great! What about you Garrus?"

"Oh, I've got a few weeks of vacation coming, and it's been quiet regardless. Count me in. Just like old times, eh, Shepard?"

The three friends lifted their glasses and drank to their friendship. But Shepard knew that things were not quite as rosy as the new Alliance Parliament made them out to be. Being in security, Garrus was well aware of this, even if he did not have firsthand information. But Jacob was particularly removed from it after settling down. Shepard envied him on a certain level. He wondered how different it might be if he had found Miranda. He resolved at that moment to do even more to find her. Once he had found her, he vowed to live a normal life with her.

#

Miranda had finished her day and had begun the walk home. She did not live far from the school and had no need for any kind of motorized transport. Also, now that she was no longer an operative, she did everything she could to try to maintain her level of fitness. Training was no longer a requirement and she was not going on dangerous missions any longer, but she knew that one day, she would need those skills. Given how much the colony had grown since the war, she was surprised that crime had not risen at a similar rate. Even so, she could not shake the feeling that something was going to happen. Something was coming. But without her contacts, she had no way to verify what it might be.

As she rounded the corner to her modular housing unit, she saw Zack and an Asari girl named Alyna having some kind of tussle with three of the larger boys from school. Miranda recognized them. Alyna had been orphaned during the war and was left here. Normally, the Asari are meticulous about taking care of their own, but with the Sol System cut off from Thesia and the chaos of the war's aftermath, a lot of Asari slipped through the cracks. She was one of them. As for the boys, she knew their type all too well. _Bullies_, she thought.

"I said leave her alone," Zack shouted at them.

"And what are you gonna do if we don't, punk?"

Chet spoke, the other two laughed. Biff stepped in and slugged Zack in the right eye, sending him the ground. Zack knew he was dead. Chet, Biff, and Parish were all bigger than him. They had all beaten him up several times on their own. The three together would pulverize him. He decided to make them work for it. He was about to try charge them when he heard Miss Cordell's voice.

"Perhaps you should be asking me that question."

All of them turned to look at her. Zack was at the age where he had become very interested in girls and Miss Cordell was achingly beautiful. He loved her classes, as much for the lesson as for her. He still had a hard time looking at her directly, always afraid that he would offend her by staring. Finally, Chet spoke.

"Aw, Miss Cordell, we were just having fun. Nothing bad."

"That's not true …"

Biff cut him off.

"Shut up, Zack."

"Fun? I saw what you were doing," replied their teacher. "It's only fun if everyone is enjoying themselves. This isn't fun. Not for them."

Zack had never seen this side of Miss Cordell. She stood upright and confident. Her expression was determined and forceful. The three bullies nodded, saying, "Yes, Miss Cordell," and then left. Then her expression softened and she smiled at him.

"So, what happened?"

"They wanted to … ," cried Alyna through tears, unable to finish the sentence. Miranda just held the girl as she cried.

"I tried to stop them, but they were stronger than me," explained Zack. "If you hadn't come along, they would have beat me up and raped her."

"But you stood up to them, Zack. See? I told you that you reminded me of the Commander. Come on, both of you. My apartment is down the street. I've got something for that eye. Maybe we can keep it from swelling up too much.

#

Zack sat with Alyna in Miss Cordell's living room, Zack with an ice pack on his eye. Their teacher gave him some medi-gel to take most of the swelling down. He looked around the apartment and was surprised at how Spartan it was. She had only the furniture she needed. On one wall was a desk with her computer and files, but also on the desk was an autographed picture of Commander Shepard.

"How come there's no Mister Cordell?"

Alyna's question was unexpected and seeming from out in left field. But Zack was curious. She was older than some of his other teachers and was certainly beautiful. But she seemed to have nobody.

"There is a very special man that I lost contact with during the war," replied their teacher. "During the war, I tried to do my part and I met this very wonderful man. We planned to marry and start a family, but the war … I'd … I'd rather not talk about it."

Her eyes misted over as she spoke and she turned her head away quickly. She was silent for a few moments, long enough that Alyna apologized to her.

"I'm sorry, Miss Cordell. I didn't mean to …" but their teacher cut her off.

"Oh, it's alright. I just get overcome by it sometimes. I know that it's been a while, but I still hold out hope. Hope that he's a live and that he still loves me. Hope that he's searching for me and that one day, he'll step off of his ship like a prince in the vids and sweep me off of my feet, carrying me away to live happily ever after."

She smiled and sat down.

"I'm sorry to cry in front of you both, but that's my past. I suppose that I should walk you two back to the orphanage."

Miranda fought back the tears. She really missed the Commander. _One day_, she thought. _One day, maybe we can be together_.


	3. Chapter 3: Gathering Storm

Chapter 3: Gathering Storm

"The chaos of the war has left Alliance territory vulnerable. They lost so many ships during the war, and Earth was so devastated, that they have not been able to rebuild their military. Their sense of unity with the other Council races has only made them soft. We will sweep into their outer colonies and make up for our failure at Elysium years ago!"

Kor'shak pounded the table as he finished speaking and his words were greeted with loud applause. But one of the human captains, Captain Cray, was not clapping. Once the applause died down, he spoke.

"Can you guarantee that Commander Shepard will not interfere? You may recall that he singlehandedly foiled the operation on Elysium. It's why they made him a Spectre. And he has a reputation for looking out for the colony worlds. And the Normandy can get here in plenty of time to throw a serious wrench into your plans."

Kor'shak bristled at this. Shepard had been a thorn in the Batarian's side for years, starting with Elysium. Kor'shak remembered what happened there; he saw it firsthand. And then there was Bahak. Kor'shak's brother had died there during the Alpha Relay explosion. Though there was no solid evidence, it was widely believed that Shepard had been responsible.

"Shepard will not be a problem. I have it on good authority that he will be involved in a mission on Mars. By the time he might even hear about this, we'll be long gone."

"Even without a mass relay to jump through? Can you guarantee that?" Cray was adamant. And unfortunately, he had a very valid point.

"I've arranged a little surprise for the good Commander should he set course for Callisto," assured Kor'shak.

"Very well," replied Cray, "We'll sign on."

It still amazed Kor'shak that one man could strike such fear into the collective heart of a group of pirates. This operation had a much greater chance of success than the Blitz on Elysium had, so there should have been no worries at all.

"Good, because we move in three days. We'll start on Callisto. We'll take control of a large facility to use as our staging grounds and as a place where the humans can be chipped and tagged prior to loading. After that, we go for the smaller colonies. Then we settle up with those of you who are staying, and then we leave the Sol System. We'll have to be put into cryosleep for the journey, but when we awaken, we will have the most glorious bounty of slaves to bring to Khar'Shan in the history of our race!"

#

Garrus and Jacob boarded the Normandy for the first time since the War. Both were pleasantly surprised to see a multi-species crew. While fifty percent of the crew were human, the other half was composed of Asari, Turians, Salarians, and even a few Quarians and a Drell. The two peaked into the cockpit and saw a pilot and copilot who were not Joker and Edi.

Edi had perished during the war and Joker had left the military to do civilian piloting. The loss of Edi had been too much for him. However, in the pilot's seat was none other than Steve Cortez. In the copilot's seat was an Asari.

"Cortez, I thought I might find you here," said Garrus.

Steve and the Asari turned around to see Garrus and Jacob. Steve stood and fired off a crisp salute, leaving his copilot puzzled; She did not recognize Garrus and Jacob was a civilian.

"Great to see you again, Sir!"

Steve then warmly embraced his former comrades in arms.

"Good to see you too, Steve," replied Garrus. "So, you've gone from a Trident to a Kodiak to a frigate. You're not getting any closer to that fighter you missed so much."

"Now that's where you'd be wrong," laughed Steve. "Shepard pulled some strings and stashed a Trident in the shuttle bay. It's come in handy a few times."

"I'll bet!" Jacob was excited at this. He thought of how helpful a fighter might have been when he had worked with Shepard and Miranda going up against the collectors. He wondered how Cortez stacked up against Joker at the helm.

"Sir," said the copilot, "Why are you saluting non Normandy crew and a civilian?"

Before any of them could answer, they heard Shepard's voice say,

"Because they are Normandy crew. Garrus is as much a part of Normandy's history as I am; he flew with me against Saren, the Collectors, and in the Reaper war. And Jacob was my XO when we went up against the collectors."

Suddenly she stood up and saluted the Captain, but then fired off a crisp salute to Garrus and Jacob. Steve could not help but laugh.

"I'm sorry sir, I didn't recognize them."

"It's alright," Shepard replied, returning her salute. Turning to Garrus and Jacob, he said, "So, you ready for the tour?"

"Damn straight, Shepard," replied Garrus. "I hope you've stocked up on that Turian brandy you'd promised to have on hand if I ever stepped back on the Normandy."

"Yeah, Shepard," chimed in Jacob. "You think your liquor cabinet can survive and assault by Taylor and Vakarian?"

"We'll find out. And when we get to Mars, I'll take the crew to Jack Zero's."

"Jack Zero's?" Steve, Garrus, and Jacob all asked in unison.

"Yeah, Jack Zero's," replied Shepard. "Bar and tattoo parlor. Jack served her tour and then opened up the place. I wish Miranda were with us …"

"You'll find her, Shepard," assured Jacob. "I know Miranda. She's out there waiting for you. She won't give up on you any more than you'd give up on her."

"Thanks. Say, you both know Steve, but you haven't met Normandy's copilot, Lieutenant Salanah. Salanah, Garrus Vakarian and Jacob Taylor. Garrus and Jacob, Salanah."

The Asari stood and shook hands with them both.

"It's an honor. I've heard so much about you. Both of you. I'm sorry I didn't recognize you earlier."

"Hey, I'm a civilian now," laughed Jacob. "It's nice to just be a normal guy, you know?"

"I wouldn't know," observed Shepard, "But I do know that there's someone who will be very glad to see you both. Come on."

#

Tali Zorah Vas Normandy was going over some last minute items before the voyage. It was routine, but as the chief engineer of the Normandy, she knew that things could go from routine to red alert in seconds. As she shut off her omni-tool, she heard the door open. She heard Gabby's voice call out,

"Captain on deck!"

Ken turned and saluted as Shepard rounded the corner. Tali quickly saluted.

"At ease," laughed the Captain. "I've brought some old friends."

"Garrus! Jacob!"

Tali ran and embraced Garrus while Ken and Gabby shook hands with Jacob. She looked at Jacob and had to admit that he had kept himself up in spite of having left the military. And Garrus looked as striking as ever. Even without armor, Garrus was an imposing figure.

"Garrus, I think you'll like it here; more Turians on board means better meals for those of us who eat Dextro foods."

"It's interesting," noted Garrus. "This ship is a vessel of Turian/Human design, designed with a Turian command structure in mind, and is now captained by a Human who is commanding a crew of Humans and Turians."

"Best of both worlds," boasted Shepard. "I'll leave the three of you to catch up. I've got to get the Normandy moving. Once we're moving, we'll get together in the lounge. Until then, I should go."

The five of them laughed loudly when Shepard said this.

"What?" He looked puzzled.

"I should go. That's what," laughed Tali. "You always say that. Wrex and I used to think that it was some weird Earth thing, or that all Humans said it, but it's just you. Kind of like your dancing; it's just you."

"Very funny," replied Shepard as the rest of them laughed.

#

Ashley Vega was just wrapping up her workout. She had been taking out the stress of the day on the heavy bag and felt like she was really on fire. She still had that snap and power. As she hooked the bag to the ceiling, she heard her husband clapping.

"Damn, girl, you've still got it!"

James Vega walked in and the two embraced.

"Thanks, James. I need to be careful; I don't want to get as big as you. Then I'd have to … you know; go shopping. Yech!"

"I hear you. So what's got you all fired up? I know you work out regularly, but this was exceptional. I feel sorry for the bag!"

"Well for once, it's not frustration, but jubilation; Shepard contacted me about the Ranger program. He really wants me in on it. Like in a top level position in on it. I mean, my rank wouldn't change; he's the captain, I'm a commander, but we'd be at the top of a brand new force. Gotta say that I'm psyched!"

"Did he mention little old me?"

"He always mentions you, James. Speaking of which, I'm technically not supposed to tell you this, but you're my husband, so I'm going to anyway. They've built a new SR-2; the London. They had a list of names for her skipper, but Shepard made sure to put your name in the running and really pulled for you. He said that if you don't want it, he understands. But if you so, it's yours."

"Damn! When he said he'd look out for me, he wasn't kidding! But what do you think?"

"I think that it's a huge honor, James. As it is, we hardly see each other. Rangers are like Spectres; they don't usually have their own ship. With you in command of a frigate, we might actually see each other more. I think that as the second Human Spectre, I might have a bit of pull to hitch rides on the London. What do you think of that?"

Ashley wrapped her arms around him as she asked and kissed him.

"I think I'll say yes, that's what I think."

"Good, because he's coming here to make the offer in person. The Normandy should be here in a few days. Garrus, Jacob, and Tali are with him. You know, Liara is at the Mars Archives right now. Maybe a little Normandy crew reunion is in order?"

"This day keeps getting better all the time! We'll have to stock up on the cerveza, though."

#

The pirate fleet moved in towards Jupiter, careful to avoid any Alliance listening posts. Most had been destroyed during the war, giving the pirates an advantage. Kor'shak had amassed a fleet over one hundred strong and there was no indication of any resistance from the Alliance. Good, thought. He would finally have his revenge on the Alliance. And Commander Shepard would be far away. That was the sweetest revenge of all; Kor'shak's pirates would be able to take all of those people and Shepard would be helpless to stop them.

They began taking out the various satellites in orbit; no communication could be allowed. They would not dispatch aid immediately over loss of communications. And by the time they did, it would be too late.

#

Delan arrived at the principal's office early in the morning. He had no kids; he had been called in by his friend to fix a faulty HVAC unit at the school.

"Good to see you, Delan!" Principal Fuchs greeted him warmly.

"Good to be back in to colony living," replied Delan. "Cheryl and I were so glad to get away from Earth. After Horizon and the Reapers, we thought we'd never get away."

"Same here. I'm just glad we left Horizon after the Collector attack. I heard that what Cerberus did …"

"Yeah, the less said the better." Delan's gruff voice was tinged with sadness. "So, let's take a look at your busted unit. I'll get her going again if I can."

"Right this way, Delan."

As they turned to leave, the door opened and a beautiful woman stepped into the room. She was tall and had long, luxuriant hair. And a look of supreme confidence. Delan recognized her immediately.

"You! You're Cerberus!"

#

"Sir, we've lost all communications."

"All?" The Colonial Administrator was confused. "How are we speaking then?"

"Surface communications are unaffected," replied the Colonial Communications Administrator. "I'm talking about communications with Earth and the other colonies. All communications off of Callisto are down. Even the extranet is down. Our satellites are unresponsive; they abruptly stopped communicating. However, we did get an image from one of them just before it went dead."

The footage appeared on the screen. A fleet of ships approaching, one of them firing, and then the picture and sound went dead. The Colonial Administrator was pale. Pirates. Batarian pirates. Just like on Elysium. He was there. He would have been dead had it not been for Commander Shepard. But now, Callisto had no communications. And Shepard was not here.

"I'll call Jim. He's the head of security; maybe he can think of something. You get to work on restoring some kind of off-world communications."

"Sir, I don't have the tools or the skills to do that!"

"If we can't get help, we're dead. Or worse."

#

Jack Zero's was full of Alliance marines, the current Normandy crew, and patrons who were ecstatic to see them. In the VIP room, Jack Zero hosted a Normandy reunion; Jacob, Tali, Ashley and Vega, and of course, Shepard and Garrus.

"Good to see you guys again!" Jack had come a long way from the hardened sociopath Shepard had first sprung from the Purgatory. The collector mission had taught her to trust others again. Her hard heart had softened; she began to let people in. Her time as an Academy instructor had softened her more; she had become a protector, a teacher. When the Academy was under attack by Cerberus, Shepard, Garrus, and Vega had shown up in the Normandy to save them. Then she served in the Reaper war with the Alliance military. Jack had become a completely different person.

But though her heart had softened, her combative edge was as sharp as ever. She was glad to see that the same was true of the rest of them. Except Tali; she had never had a combative edge. Jack laughed. _We should all be dead_, she thought. _A thousand times over, we should all be dead_. But they were not dead. Shepard had seen to that. And now, they could enjoy the fruits of their labors: peace and lots of alcohol! The alcohol was great, but she missed the action.

"You look great, Jack."

Shepard hugged her. It was one of those warm, brotherly hugs.

"Thanks." She held him tightly. She had no family. No parents, no siblings. But if anyone were family, it was the people in this room. And if anyone were her big brother, it was Shepard.

"Alliance blues, Shepard? They look good, but you aint goin soft on us, are you?"

"With the crew here, I thought it best to provide some command presence," he laughed.

"Hey, Garrus. Your face still looks like shit."

"Charming as ever, Jack," Garrus replied with a laugh.

"Man, the last time I saw you, you were bald and we were going after the Collectors," exclaimed Jacob. "Now you're respectable. Bet you still pack a punch, though."

"That's a good bet, Jacob." Jack hugged him.

She never thought she would ever hug him; when they had met, he was a Cerberus officer. But those days were past them now. Jacob had quit Cerberus, Shepard had taken Cerberus down, and then they had all gone through the Reaper war together.

"So, I hear you and Ashley are putting together a group to replace the Spectres. What's the scoop?" Jack had to know more about this.

"We're calling it the Rangers," explained Shepard. "It's a multi-species force specifically designed to facilitate rapid response and cooperation in the event of a large scale threat. They also serve to help keep the peace and mitigate disputes so that innocents don't get caught in the cross-fire. Like the Spectres, they're the first and last line of defense. Unlike the Spectres, they don't have the latitude to act outside the law."

"Damn, Shepard," Jack laughed. "Where's the fun in that?"

"It isn't fun when you get someone like Saren," Ashley reminded everyone. "Or that rogue Spectre, Tela Vasir that Liara and Shepard ran into on Illium."

"Yeah, that was a bitch," Jack conceded. "Well, let's drink to your new venture! And to all of us being alive to drink to anything!"

#

"You! You're Cerberus!"

Delan would never forget the nightmare of Horizon. Cerberus had turned the remnant of the once vibrant colony into a living hell where colonists and refugees were duped into becoming lab rats in experiments with Reaper-tech. Fuchs and Delan had left after the Collector attack, but not before Delan had a run in with Commander Shepard. The one time he met the war hero, harsh words were exchanged. Half the colony had been taken by the Collectors before Shepard had arrived and driven them off. Somehow, he had been able to fix the Guardian lasers that the Alliance rep, Chief Williams had been unable to fix. Shepard had the help of a human woman and a Turian. The Turians all looked the same to him, but the woman stood out. She was beautiful. And cold. The look in her eyes sent chills through him. And he remembered the logo on her uniform; Cerberus. Delan would never forget her, and this was her, standing in front of him in a school full of children.

"Excuse me?"

The woman cocked her head and raise her eyebrow. But deny as she might, he knew it was her. He backed away quickly.

"Fuchs, you've gotta call Colonial Security! This woman's a menace!"

"Miss Cordell? She's one of my finest teachers," protested Fuchs. "You must be mistaken."

"I aint mistaken, George!" Delan was not going to let her slip under the radar. "She was on Horizon with Shepard wearing a Cerberus uniform!"

"Then she … helped Shepard to save us?" George Fuchs was confused. "I fail to see the problem."

"She's Cerberus, George! This woman aint no schoolteacher; she's some kind of operative! I'll bet her credentials are forged. Whatever she's doing here, she's trouble. You gotta get her away from the kids!"

"I don't know who you are," Miri Cordell replied, "But I love the kids and I am a schoolteacher. I'll advise you to refrain from such libelous accusations!"

"Libelous? It's only libel if it aint true! And it's true! You're ex-Cerberus! I don't know what you're doing here, but whatever it is, it aint no good for this colony!"

"Delan, you've been my friend for a long time," said Fuchs. "I trust you, but I have to question your assessment. This woman has been here for some time and the kids do love her. And she has demonstrated nothing but love for them. And she's an excellent science teacher."

"Yeah, well I'm calling security," growled the mechanic. "We'll see if they believe her bullshit story."

"On what grounds?" she protested. "What have I done? I did my part during the war, and I'm a dedicated teacher. And you want to call security on me?"

"Delan …" Mr. Fuchs began, but Delan cut him off.

"George, I aint crazy. Trust me! I'm right."

As if on cue, security came into the office.

"What was fast," noted Miri. But they weren't there for her.

"George, I just got the word from the Colonial Security Administrator. We've got a fleet of Batarian pirates on the way. They've taken out interplanetary communications. We're getting everyone to the town hall for safety."

"Libelous? It's only libel if it aint true! And it's true! You're ex-Cerberus! I don't know what you're doing here, but whatever it is, it aint no good for this colony!"

"Town hall?" Miri protested this. "That will put them all in one place. Batarians come to colonies for one purpose and one only: slaves. And I won't allow any of my children to be taken by those damned Batarians."

"Like we should trust you," sneered Delan. "You're Cerberus."

"This true?" the officer looked at her with that look police had before arresting you.

"No, I am not Cerberus," she protested. "Cerberus is dead anyway, so nobody is Cerberus. Not anymore."

"I saw you on Horizon with Commander Shepard right after the Collector's attacked! You wore a Cerberus uniform!"

"So I helped to save your miserable life and you want me arrested for it?"

"No. You're organization turned Horizon into a death camp where you tricked refugees into becoming lab rats for Reaper tech."

The officer was looking at his omni-tool. Sure enough, a warrant for a Miranda Lawson came up as a match for Miri Cordell's image, wanted in connection with Cerberus.

"Miss Lawson, I'm placing you under arrest," he said hesitantly. "With incoming pirates, we can't risk you being free."

Miranda could not believe it. Her carefully crafted life had just come apart because of that sniveling coward from Horizon. She was tempted to use her biotics to blast them, but she refused to do that at the school where she taught.

"Can't risk me being free? If I am who you say that I am, then I'm the one who brought Shepard back. I was with him to stop the Collectors, and I helped him to blow up the Collector base. If I am who you say I am, I quit Cerberus and helped Shepard to stop Cerberus on Horizon during the Reaper War. What did you do Delan? Hide in your bunker again?"

As the officer put cuffs on her, Delan slugged her.

"Bitch!"

"Why are you hitting Miss Cordell?"

A boy and an Asari girl happened to be walking past and see the exchange. The boy looked livid. He ran at Delan, but Mister Fuchs restrained him.

"Zack, don't," Miranda admonished. "I can handle myself. And Officer, if we've got pirates coming our way and no means of getting help, then if I am who you think I am, then I'm the only hope this colony has."


End file.
